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Ted Raimi

Biography
by Jason Buchanan

An endearingly geeky, bespectacled character actor who carved a respectable niche for himself with memorable roles in such popular television series as SeaQuest DSV and Xena: Warrior Princess, Ted Raimi may not have achieved the wild success of his prolific brother Sam (director of the Evil Dead and Spider-Man films), but he has still managed to build a healthy fan base thanks to his likeable personality, versatility, and undeniable screen presence.

Ted Raimi was born the youngest of four siblings in Detroit, MI. His parents were well-respected businesspeople in the suburbs of the Motor City; his father owned a chain of home furnishing stores and his mother a chain of lingerie shops. Despite the temptation to follow in the family businesses, Raimi was inspired by his brother Sam's prowess behind the camera and opted to try his hand at acting instead. Throughout his school years, Raimi would appear in many of his older sibling's Super-8 films, growing increasingly comfortable in front of the camera and gaining a keen perception of comic timing. His personable attitude and easygoing nature also found him gaining a solid reputation as a local DJ. Following high school, Raimi opted to head for Lansing and pursue his higher education at Michigan State University. A transfer to the University of New York followed shortly thereafter, with Raimi ultimately returning to his home state to attend the University of Detroit.

Subsequent years found the fledgling actor honing his skills in brother Sam's early films (including Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, and Crimewave), as well as numerous industrial films in and around the Motor City (a somewhat profitable market given the area's industrial prowess). Though work in industrial films did keep Raimi busy, they were nevertheless somewhat stifling in terms of creativity, and in 1988, he followed his brother Sam to Los Angeles in hopes of breaking into the Hollywood scene. Raimi ventured out from under the wing of his older sibling in 1989 with a small role in the Wes Craven horror movie Shocker. Though there was always a place for Ted in brother Sam's movies, he began to establish a solid reputation in his own right. In 1991, the younger Raimi played an impressive and compelling lead in the flawed-but-entertaining psychological comedy Lunatics: A Love Story. Cast as an agoraphobic who falls in love with an equally disturbed young woman, Raimi got a chance to shine as few of his roles up to that point had. As the 1990s progressed, Raimi quietly left an impression on mainstream audiences thanks to supporting roles in such high-profile Hollywood blockbusters as Patriot Games, Candyman, Hard Target, and Clear and Present Danger (of course, the fact that the younger Raimi essayed multiple roles in brother Sam's Army of Darkness goes without saying among so-called "Tedites").

In 1993, Raimi made his maiden voyage into television with a recurring role on the popular but short-lived series SeaQuest DSV. He later took the lead as a charming serial killer in the little-seen horror feature Skinner before irking fans of Xena: Warrior Princess with his recurring role as wannabe warrior Joxer. Though it took some time for audiences to warm up to Raimi's undeniably hammy performance, the fact that they eventually embraced the character offers a testament to the actor's personable charm. By this point, Raimi-spotting had become something of a sport among longtime fans, and as his list of credits continued to expand, one could always count on the likable actor to turn in a memorable performance -- no matter how small the part. Various roles on Primetime Glick and vocal work on the twisted Nickelodeon series Invader ZIM found Raimi's schedule continually full. In addition to appearing in the first two Spider-Man films, he could also be seen in the American adaptation of the Japanese horror hit Ju-on, entitled The Grudge (produced by brother Sam and scheduled for release in 2004).